Logitech MX500 optical mouse without the cheese (Logitech MX 500)

Member Name: Craggybuk

Product:	Logitech MX 500
Date:	30/05/07 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tonnes of functions via the 8 buttons . High quality laser

Disadvantages: Software on CD is a bit over the top

The Logitech MX 500 is the first optical mouse I have owned personally. Having used a couple of different brands at work, I was aware that the quality of these devices differed greatly between manufacturers. I paid £30 for this mouse when I bought it a couple of years ago so you should be able to pick them up for a lot cheaper now.

--Whats in the box--

On opening the box, you will find the mouse itself with its extension cable and usb connector, a ps/2 style adapter which connects to the usb end of the mouse to allow it to be connected to the old ps/2 style interface, a quick installation guide and a cd which includes various software such as logitech updates, the logitech desktop and some various other mouse software which is not required.

--Setup and Installation--

If you are using the mouse with the usb interface then it really is just a simple case of plugging the mouse in, booting up the pc and away you go. There is no need to use any of the software that Logitech provide for this method. In fact, I'd go as far as calling the software, 'bloatware' as it will expect you to add various toolbars and shortcuts to your system.

If you go connect via the ps/2 interface then you may need to install the driver software before the mouse is detected.

--Useage--

This mouse is very comfortable to use, it is shaped nicely to fit naturally into the hand. On top of the mouse, you have the normal left click and right click buttons. There is also a trackerball which makes for navigating large webpages simple. Rather than moving the mouse to the vertical navigation bar at the site of the window, you can now just scroll up and down with the trackerball for even faster scrolling.

If you want to scroll a few lines at a time with this method but are finding it goes too fast, do not worry as Logictech have thought of this. There are two button situated above and below the trackerball, these will allow you to scroll up or down a page, just like the trackerball, but at a must slower speed allowing for more controlled scrolling.

The final button on the top is reliant on the Logictech software being installed. You can program the button to bring up a list of commonly used programs which can then be launched. I must admit I dont use this function as I'm a bit old fashioned and I prefer to launch programs from the Start button and I havent got the logitech software installed for reasons mentioned above.

The final 2 buttons are on the left hand side of the mouse. These carry out the tasks of the forward and back buttons on a web browser. Again, these buttons are designed for quickness. Rather than moving the mouse to the on-screen icons, a single click on one of these buttons will take you back one page or forward one page depending on which button was pressed. Again, I tend not to use these buttons too often as I've been brought up on mice for the past 18 years so all these new features are probably lost on me.

I use this mouse on a desk with no mouse mat or any other materials between the base of the mouse and the desk. The mouse pointer runs very true across the screen. On some optical mice I have seen, if you leave the mouse still on the desk, the pointer still moves across the screen. This has never happened on the Logitech, the quality of the laser is excellent.

--Verdict--

This is an excellent mouse filled with well thought out ideas and functions. I admit that I dont make full use of the extended functions like the scrolling and the web page navigation but I have used them and can confirm that they do work very well. A lot of thought has gone into the design of this mouse and I can say that it is easily the most comfortable mouse I have used in my 18 years of using PC's. I would seriously considder buying this mouse.

Summary: A superb mouse with loads of features

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